Indians start protest to ban ‘non-vegetarian’ currency notes in UK

Indians in the UK have urged the authorities of Bank of England to ban the ‘non-vegeterian’ new five-pound notes in England. The community is against the use of animal fat used as an ingredient in the currency notes.

To show their concern, a petition titled 'Remove Tallow from bank notes' was also started that had attracted over 100,000 signatures.

Indians have opposed use of tallow( animal fat) in the five pound currency note in UK. Photo courtesy: Hindu Council, UK

The bank reiterated that they are treating the concern with ‘utmost seriousness’ and the new 20 pound notes would be launched only after consultations.

It is pertinent to mention that Hindu Council, UK met with the representatives of Bank of England and conveyed that Hindus treat cow as a symbol of grace and veneration and use of tallow made from beef fat in the note went against their beliefs.

Tallow is a hard, fatty substance made from rendered animal fat. It is commonly used to make soaps and candles.

Hindu Council said in a statement, “The Bank of England assured that they were treating those concerns with the utmost seriousness and wanted to understand better what impact the use of small traces of animal-derived products in polymer bank notes may have within the community before making any further statement on the issue.”

Meanwhile, Bank of England announced that it would not be withdrawing the polymer notes and that new 10-pound notes made of the same material would also go ahead for their launch later this year. However, it would launch a consultation before issuing similar new 20-pound notes.

Author

Ashraf Jamal – Senior Writer

Ashraf Jamal brings a rare depth to writing equipped with a degree in journalism, a postgraduate degree in political science, and a degree in law from the Allahabad University. His experience includes editing and publishing the Northern India Patrika and writing for Times of India for almost a decade covering just about any topic under the sun including NRIs and Indian diaspora.